Not Registered?

Welcome! Please register to view all of the new posts and forum boards - some of which are hidden to guests. After registering and gaining 10 posts you will be able to sell and buy items on our N'porium.

If you have any problems registering, then please check your spam filter before emailing us. Hotmail users seem to find their emails in the Junk folder.

Added a couple of yard lights on the retaining wall and laid the yard's gravelled area. It all looks a bit fresh and clean so I'll add some weeds and maybe a couple of climbers up the retaining wall. I may even weather the gravel a little to make it look a bit more grubby.

I do like the idea of something like that. My only issue is height. The lid of the bread bin is curved so I lose height quite quickly with it being so close to the front. Does such a thing exist "off the shelf" in n gauge?

I do like the idea of something like that. My only issue is height. The lid of the bread bin is curved so I lose height quite quickly with it being so close to the front. Does such a thing exist "off the shelf" in n gauge?

Looking at your last pic... why not place it in the front right corner? Using bowden rods and angle connectors to move the point. The angle connectors can also be used to provide the necessary ratio...

Logged

=================have a disney dayvapour is just water and therefor clean

Wow! Almost a whole year since my last meaningful update! I may have said this before but I feel I should publicly apologise to anybody that has spent years on their layouts.... when I first started this hobby I used to think "How can it take them so long" and "Mine will be finished much quicker".... hmmm that didn't quite work out like that did it. I'm trying to think of some old quote about the journey being more important than the destination; I'm sure you know the one I mean!

Anyway; Over the last few weeks I've tentatively taken the bread bin down from the shelf and started working on it (mostly just staring at it really). For anyone that read my post in the layout planning section you'll know I have a plan to rejuvenate my "main" layout and bring it back to life, but first I'd like to get this one finished to make room in the storage area of the playroom that I've commandeered successfully without anyone noticing.

It started with some painting of the sky areas. Just black for now but will add some deep blue later (it's a night time scene remember);

Whilst this was an essential step that I always needed to do at some point, it threw up yet more challenges like; How do I get the slats back in and stuck together to work like the original sliding front? How do I get the baseboard in and out without scuffing the paintwork? How do I get my sausage fingers in to do the wiring with knocking the buildings down? and then there was the issue highlighted very early on about how to rescue a stranded train from behind the wall at the back..... An hour in the garage this evening and all (well... most) are now solved. I basically got brave and attacked it with a jigsaw, hammer and chisel!

Firstly I removed the bottom of the bread bin completely;

This solved the issue of scuffing paintwork with the baseboard. Now the whole thing slides over the top of the baseboard. I just need to figure out a way of fixing it now from the bottom (and out of site).

It also gave access to extend the slots on the side walls where the slats sit. From the open bottom I could now extend the slots so that the slats can be slid in as one piece once they're painted and linked back together;

Before;

After;

In the earlier image you can also see that I've cut a letter box in the back to provide rescue access! The entire back will be covered over by a new removable sheet of thin play to close it up later.

After all that excitement I thought it was only right that I share my progress and bring this thread back to life in the hope that it spurs me on to keep tinkering. I've bought a few electronic bits and bobs so when they arrive I can really get going with the controls. Before then I need to mechanise the point switch and maybe do some more painting and somehow join the slats back up. All in all it's been a productive couple of hours. If I get more time over the weekend then I plan to add some weathering and a touch of greenery to the walls and yard before drilling holes in the board for the building lighting and fixing the buildings in place. Now that the shell and the baseboard can be treated independently until the very end it gives me much more freedom to do jobs in any order.

Thanks all for reading and fingers crossed it's not another 10 months before the next update!

edit; sorry if anyone is feeling dizzy; I'm not why some images have turned sideways

Whilst I wait for more electrical parts to arrive I've been doing a bit of tinkering. Mostly I've been distracted by how badly the shunter is running but I did take the camera out the other night as I wanted to do some experimenting on the side wall "backscenes".

This is by no means the final version but it's enough to tell me that I like the idea and I think I can make it work. More effort needed on the photography and a good quality print on a less shiny surface would vastly improve it but was good to see it in position.

I'd be keen to hear any thoughts and experiences of using photographs for backscenes.

« Last Edit: October 09, 2019, 10:52:41 AM by Pjlons83, Reason: The image appears the right way up on my PC but not in the post. If anybody knows how to fix it then I\'d be very appreciative. »

I spent some time on the layout this evening mostly drilling holes for wiring, weathering and adding a bit of vegetation. I couldn’t resist lashing up a temporary power supply and seeing what it looked like;

Also, the pictures have just reminded me that I sprayed and weathered the little fence before permanently fixing it in place. I always find weathering and drilling quite daunting but I’m very happy with the result. I think it’s really come to life now!

I have made a compromise on the electrics; I always wanted to keep the controls permanent and fit them inside the breadbin somewhere but I just can’t find a way that felt right. I’ve settled for fitting a socket in the back and making my own wired controller that can be plugged in and removed when required. Once all the bits and pieces have arrived I can get that built up and properly fix the wiring.

After a week away with the family it’s back to work tomorrow for a rest so fingers crossed I can manage an evening on it again during the week!

« Last Edit: October 20, 2019, 09:37:50 PM by Pjlons83, Reason: Sorry again for the image rotation. I really don\'t know how to fix it! »